So this is my first Spiderman story. Infinity Wars shattered my heart to pieces and I thought that the best way to cope was to write about my favorite neighborhood spider boi. I unfortunately don't own anything related to Marvel, although I have created the character of Angel Flores (inspired by many perfectly imperfect angels out there) and I hope you enjoy this story.
Ahem, now without further ado, I introduce to you: VENOMOUS (what an original title, huh ?)
'Funny how I blind myself
I never knew if I was sometimes played upon
Afraid to lose,'
Angel took a deep breath as she stood in front of the vast building, hands stuffed inside the pockets of her oversized denim jacket. "Midtown High" the sign on it read, and as 'Its my life' by Talk Talk blasted through her earphones, she couldn't help but silently curse at the fact that it was another semester at another school for the forth time that year.
The second in that month.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Flores, but your daughter's behavior is simply unacceptable. We can't allow her to continue being a student here if she shows tremendous lack in discipline. If you ask me, I say you should put her through military school. Boot camp should certainly straighten her up," the voice of her last principal once again echoes in her mind, causing her to swallow an invisible lump in her throat.
The whole point of her moving from Florida to New York was so she was able to have a fresh start. To avoid the stress of having to deal with a reputation that kept her from living a normal life back home. Back at her old home, with her mom, and her cat, and her Miami tan lines. The move was in no way suppose to add to the list of schools she was now expelled from, the count now being three and from two different states.
Her mother trusted that a change of scenery would do the trick, and it was helpful that her father lived a thousand miles away and was more than happy to have his daughter live with him. However, with just a week in and already having an issue arise, she was certain he was beginning to regret his decision.
"Why did you do it?" Her father had asked her on the way home. They had walked the busy New York streets in silence until he finally spoke up.
Angel couldn't bare to looks at him the entire time. Not in the principal's office as Principal Golightly fired complaints, and certainly not now as they walked side by side, silently home.
I don't know, she thought to herself honestly.
I really don't know why I keep doing these things. It's not who I am. This isn't what I'm like. I would never do these things on purpose, dad. You have to believe me.
"The kid's at school are a bunch of shit heads."
She closes her eyes at the memory, the invisible lump taking a larger form in her throat.
Her father stopped in his tracks, and in feeling his lack of movement, she finally turned her head to look at him. The disappointment was evident in his face.
"You know what, kid? If it always seems like there is someone or something to blame, maybe, at the end of the day, it's just you that's the problem that needs solving."
The words hit her like ice water and she immediately casted her gaze to the ground as she felt the tears brim her eyes.
"What would you know? You and mom can't even come to terms with the fact that you're both practically divorced. Seems to me like I'm not the only one in denial."
A shove from an incoming student brought Angel back to reality, knocking an earphone from her right ear.
"Sorry!" the student called out without turning back, but Angel was too caught up in her thoughts and the song to even care.
'It's my life! Don't you forget,' the voice sang out.
Oh yeah, it definitely was her life.
And at times, she wished she could forget.
It wasn't anything new for Peter Parker to race against time to get to school. In fact, if he wasn't running through the streets of Queens in the morning like his life depended on it, then that was something to really question.
The world was probably on the brink of an apocalypse.
All in all, the kid had a lot on his plate. Being an Almost-Avenger and the now popular hero that was Spiderman was a lot of work and a lot of late night shifts. Spiderman was practically a full time job, and he choose to live by the words of his late uncle Ben; With great power, comes great responsibility. And Peter would gladly sacrifice a few hours of sleep if it meant he was helping the world become a safer place.
Despite Aunt May now being aware of his spidery alter ego, however, she made it a point to not ease up on him anytime soon.
"You want to be a teenage superhero, fine, go do that. But if you get just as much as one tardy, you can kiss this 'Stark internship' goodbye. School is important Peter, and you only get one chance to do it right and enjoy being a teenager."
Peter knew better than to take what his aunt said lightly, so he didn't think twice when he crossed the street, nearly being run over by a cab, to get to the school building a minute before the bell rang. He also didn't bother to stop when he accidentally ran into another student, settling for yelling out an apology as he made it to his designated room.
Yeah, Peter lived life on the fast line, not really being able to stop and take it all in.
But, honestly, he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Hey, Pete, did you hear the news?" His best friend, Ned Leeds said as they both entered the now unlocked classroom.
"Is it another theory about the Solo movie? Because, seriously Ned, it's just going to disappoint us in the end," Peter stated, taking his usual seat next to his friend.
Ned shook his head. "No, you noob. It's about the new kid. You know, the transfer. I heard it's a chick. I mean, umm, girl. I heard Principal Morita talk about it when I passed by the office. You know what this means, right?"
"That you definitely to take the word 'chick' out of your vocabulary ," Peter responded, rolling his eyes lightly.
Ned huffed. "No. That we have to get to her before Flash Thompson does. You know that asshat has a thing for the new girl's at school, and he won't hesitate to make her think we're a bunch of geeks before we can even say 'hello'."
Peter raised a brow, looking over at his friend. "But aren't we a bunch of geeks?"
Ned sent him a glare, causing Peter to chuckle and turn his attention back to the board where their teacher, Mrs. Fitz, was already writing their daily assignment on. He sometimes thought Ned worried too much about what other people thought. Sure, Peter was at times a victim to the teenage dilemma that was his social status, but after everything that happened with Mr. Stark and Liz's dad and his invite to be one of the Avengers, he realized it was a stupid thing to care or worry about. At least, not all the time. For all Peter knew, the new girl probably already made up her mind on who she wanted to hang out with, and the nerds and outcasts were a pretty unpopular choice when it came to newbies.
Girls and reputations were the least of Peter's problems now, anyways. He decided that this year he was going to focus more on getting better at his job of friendly neighborhood Spiderman all while maintaining his high grades in school so Aunt May didn't take his privileges away. And maybe, one day, when he was really needed, he'd be ready to fight alongside the Avengers in an all important battle to save the world. There was no time to waste on pointless things like school popularity when you have the whole world counting on you.
A knock on the door brought Peter out of his thoughts. The rows of students whip their heads to stare directly at the door, hoping for some kind of something in the morning to wake them up.
The door opens, revealing a girl gripping on the door handle, not fully entering the room. Her posture gave away her discomfort, but two things did stand out to Peter as he observed the girl he wasn't able to recognize; her dark red hair and her oversized denim jacket, covered in colorful pins and patches of all sorts.
"Umm...is this Mrs. Fitz, English 3 Honors?" she asks, clearing her throat as she fiddles with the handle.
Mrs. Fitz stares at the girl for a moment before adjusting her glasses and looking down at a paper on her desk. "Yes, you must be...Angel Flores?"
The red headed girl nodded and stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her.
"Come to the front of the class and introduce yourself. Starting with your name, age, and where you're from."
The girl did as she was told, biting her bottom lip as she stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets, her discomfort evident on her face.
"Hi, umm...I'm Angel Flores, I'm new, if it wasn't...you know... painfully obvious."
At this, Ned excitedly elbows Peter's shoulder, which causes Peter to shush him and swat him away with his hand.
"I just turned 17 and I'm from Florida. Miami, to be specific, although I'm sure nobody cares."
She pauses and an awkward silence fills the room and Peter can't help but cringe for her. He never understood why teachers liked to put students through this torture. Did they really think this helped them in any way except in the case of public humiliation?
She looked at Mrs. Fitz for some sort of guidance, but the woman just waved her hands as if to say 'go on'.
"Uh...I've never been to New York before moving here two weeks ago, and so far I think it's pretty cool, besides it being very hectic, but like... it adds character. And I haven't visited Chinatown yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. Also, go Yankees." Once the words are out of her mouth, the girl's nose wrinkles, showing off her regret and her shoulders slump in embarrassment as the only reaction from the class was someone awkwardly clearing their throat.
Peter couldn't help but raise a brow. Go Yankees? It's almost as bad as something he'd say when he was overcome by his social anxiety.
"Alright, Miss Flores, you may take a seat next to Mr. Parker, as he has been assigned to be your guide for the day. Peter, I do trust you'll show Miss Flores around and make her feel welcomed. Here at Midtown, we are pretty fast paced when it comes to academics, but if you are one to pay attention and not waste time with distractions, you'll have no problem catching up," she informs the girl, and Peter straightens up in his seat, caught off guard by the teacher's words.
He instinctively looks to the right of him where Ned is sitting and his friend looks at him with wide eyes, mouthing the word 'lucky', but Peter is too caught up in his thoughts for the action to register.
Him? The new girl's guide? He doesn't quite remember signing up to be a part of the welcome committee. Liz was head of it when she used to be a student here, but with her move, maybe the office bestowed the honor upon Peter? But why would they choose the awkwardest 17 year old in all of New York to show a student around and make them feel welcomed?
They must be out of options, he thought. He at least understood that he was a better option than Flash. He would corrupt the poor girl in a second.
Angel walked to the empty desk on the left of Peter, setting her book bag on the floor and taking a seat. She immediately turned towards him offering a small smile.
He's not sure if he was still distracted with his thoughts to really notice the girl fully when she gave her introduction, but now that she was right next to him, Peter felt like time stood still.
She had big brown eyes that reminded him of a doe. It was an odd comparison he was sure, and pretty awkward if he ever voiced it out loud, but they stood out when in contrast with her rather long, red hair. She had little, barely noticeable freckles on her nose, but Peter noticed them clearly, and if there was one thing he really liked, it was definitely freckles. With her closer, he also noticed the patches and pins on her jacket were mostly of The Avengers, and his cheeks heated up when he saw that the majority of them were of Spiderman.
"Hi, I'm Angel, but you already know that because I was forced to stand up there and secure my spot as a loser in front of the whole class," she says, and her eyes shift from his own to the ground.
Peter chuckles lightly at this and nods. "I'm Peter. And yeah, I know. I mean, not that I know you're a loser, because I don't think you are one, but I know that you're name is Angel. And it's a nice name...Angel." He mentally curses at his stupidity and once again feels like he's the wrong one for the job. By the end of the day, she's going to think that he was the biggest nerdburger in all of New York and Florida.
Remember Peter, social statuses don't matter. You're Spiderman and that makes you the coolest of them all. I mean, she does have you all over her jacket.
His cheeks heat up once more and he turns his attention to the board. He hears a chuckle beside him and from the corner of his eye, he sees the girl turn to look at him.
"Thank you. I like the name Peter Parker. Sounds a lot like some kind of superhero."
At this, his eyes widened before letting out a nervous laugh.
Little do you know.
"Thanks. Umm...so...you okay with a tour after class?" he asked, and the girl seems surprised.
"Don't we have an another class after this?" she asks, raising a brow.
Peter swallows and let's out a nervous chuckle.
Of course they do.
"Right. We do. But, well, I have Study Hall in 3rd period. How about you?" he asks and watches as Angel pulls out a folded paper from her pocket and places it on her desk.
She nods. "Same here actually. What a coincidence, huh?"
He smiles. "I guess that may be why they chose me to guide you. Alright, cool. I guess I'll show you around then. But for now, I highly suggest you pay attention to Fitz. She has a reputation for giving out surprise pop quizzes and she has no mercy for the new kids."
"Damn, alright. And here I thought my 'new kid' reputation would let me fly by for the next few days. Guess not," she joked, turning her attention back to the board.
Peter did this as well, fiddling with his pencil. "Yeah, well, that's the thing with reputations. You'll never really know how it'll make other people treat you."
The action was small, and if it wasn't for Peter being very observant, he probably wouldn't have noticed her stiffen, but he did.
And he has an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach.